Roorkee is named after Ruri, the wife of Rajput chieftain. It was believed
to be the capital of a pargana in the time of Mughal Emperor Akber, and
finds a mention as such in Ain-a-Akbari.

In the beginning of 19th century, Roorkee was chosen for the location
of a cantonment by the then, British rulers. Roorkee was a very modest
mud-built hamlet at that time having a population of 5511 (in 1847). It
was resurrected from this non-descript position by the construction of
the Upper Ganges Canal(1842-1854) and the concomitant establishment of
Thomason Collage of Civil Engineering (in 1847).

Thomason Collage was raised to the status of a university and known
as University of Roorkee. By and By Roorkee became known in academic circles.
the University of Roorkee is not only the first engineering university
of Asia but also third in the world. As the university was a catalyst in
the establishment of other R&D institutions of national importance,
Roorkee rapidly became one of the foremost educational and research centres
in India. This event stimulated the urbanisation of Roorkee as several
new institution came to be established in the proximity of the university.

Government Workshop

Thomason Collage of Civil Engineering

Bengal Engineers Group Headquarter( Engineering wing of Indian Army)

University of Roorkee

Central Building Research Institute

Irrigation Research Institute

Irrigation Design Office

Structural Engineering Research Institute

National Institute of Hydrology

World Bank Parallel Canal Project Office

Population

Demographic pattern before 20th Century

The population of Roorkee slowly but substantially increased during
except in the census year 1865. Some fluctuations during 1853-1872 occurred
due to the highly instable condition of the region at that period especially
after the 1857 War of Independence. All in all, there was an increase of
215.13% during the period 1847-1891.

Demographic pattern during the present Century

There was a decrease during 1901-1911 and a steep increase during 1931-1941.
the former was the result of famine and epidemic which occurred during
1899, whereas an extra ordinary increase in the male population of the
cantonment area due to the onset of the second world war was resulted in
latter. The rapid increase during 1951 to 1971 growth in educational sector,
and migration of the people from Pakistan to India. Overall the population
has increased by a whooping 484.52% so far in the 20th century.

Climate

The climate of Roorkee is typical of north-western India, with very
hot summers and very cold winters. In terms of precipitation, Roorkee is
semi arid. The south-west monsoon generally breaks in mid june and the
north-east during November-December. Winters begin from late September
and continue through February. The coldest months are generally December
and January, when the minimum temperature approaches zero. A rise in temperature
is experienced from the beginning of March, which heralds the onset of
summer. The day temperature is around 40 C and warm winds blow frequently.

Problems Associated
with Development

Congested and unplanned settlement with narrow roads- this severely
hampers traffic and very often creates traffic jams. The location of grain
and vegetable market in the city core contributes to this problem.

encroachment and its ineffective removal all along the roads.

disparity in the potential of a site and its current level of utilisation.

derth of well planned and managed open spaces in the city in general,
especially, in the old city which virtually have no open spaces or vegetation.

improper drainage system - several low lying areas of the city get
flooded during rains.

inadequate sewerage system - does not cover the entire population.

solid waste and sewerage disposal sites are created on non-scientific
basis.

power demand not completely met - in summer power failures are long
and often.

inadequate water supply - eventhough civic authorities claims that
water is supplied round the clock at a brisk rate; in the peak hours in
summer proper head is not available in several areas. It lasts to a breakdown
of watersuply then city faces the long power failures.

Trends of Urbanisation
in Roorkee and its Environmental Impacts

Developmental Trends

Urban StructureDuring the initial years of development, the urban structure
of Roorkee was 'open-grained-single-nuclei' type, which gradually got transformed
to' compact-grained-multiple nuclei' type. This was accompanied with a
high rate of increase in population density.

PopulationThere has been an overall rise of 485% in population during
the last 90 years; the maximum rise occurring in the 1940s and the minimum
rise 3.25 during 1901-1911. Population has a statistically significant
rising trend.

Sex RatioThe information on male : female ratio presents surprisingly
sharp decline of the order of about 40% during the initial four decades
of this century. The data thereafter shows a stabilising trend, yet the
current value(0.625) is far less than the national average of 0.927. these
results points towards the possibility of a higher female mortality rate.

Literacy There is a slow & steady trend of increasing female literacy
over the last four decades while the male literacy has been inconsistent.
For both sexes the current level of literacy is significantly lower than
the national average(62.86% in males and 39.42% in females).

Birth & Death RatioThere is a statistically significant decreasing trend in the
instances of death and an increasing trend in the birth:death ratio; an
increase of over 100% has been observed during the last four decades.

Environmental Impacts

TemperaturesThe maximum ambient temperatures have steadily increased and
the minimum ambient temperatures have steadily decreased over the years.

PrecipitationThe statistical trend line shows a visible decrease in annual
rainfall though the trend is not yet highly significant

Air & Noise PollutionThere is an increase in the noise and air pollution levels.
As Roorkee does not have any major industries, the deterioration in the
quality of these environmental factors is evidently caused by the vehicular
traffic and the din created by human activities in the highly populated
areas. This is a qualitative assessment as city lacks in air quality monitoring
network.

Changing Land Use The impact of rapid urbanisation is seen in the changing land
use pattern during the years 1961 through 1991. The percentage of built-up
area has increased has increased from 45% (in 1961) to 72% (in 1991), causing
a 27% decrease in the productive agricultural land of the town and its
surroundings.

Run-off and Recharge patternThere is a 17% increase in run-off over the last two decades;
causing diminished recharging of groundwater.

Ground WaterThe water table displays a visibly decreasing trend. The decreasing
recharge rate is likely to be due to a combination of these factors : decrease
in rainfall during 1975-1991; continuously increasing built-up area; and
gradually increasing withdrawal to meet the water supply demand of the
city.

Non-scientifically designed waste dumping siteThe present disposal site for the roughly 200 tonnes per day
garbage as also the town's sewage, is situated upstream of the aquifer
serving the town's water supply. There is thus very strong possibility
of the present waste disposal site causing contamination of the entire
aquifer thereby adversely affecting the towns's water supply.